NASCAR: Sam Hornish Jr. leads Penske 1-2 finish at Phoenix

Sam Hornish Jr. and Brad Keselowski on Saturday gave Penske Racing a 1-2 finish in the Nationwide Series Wypall 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. But Ricky Stenhouse Jr. all but officially clinched the series championship for Roush Fenway Racing.

Former Izod IndyCar Series champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Hornish--in his 32nd career Nationwide start--led 61 of the 200 laps for his first NASCAR win in 142 starts among the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck series.

Only three drivers led during the 200 laps: pole winner Aric Almirola led the first 66, Stenhouse the next 73 and Hornish the last 61. Caution periods slowed the race five times for 34 laps, and officials also threw a red flag to clear debris from a multicar crash in turn three.

Stenhouse virtually locked up the title when second-ranked Elliott Sadler crashed out after 174 laps. Sadler began the season's next-to-last race 17 points behind and was still close until Jason Leffler wrecked him.

Stenhouse takes a 41-point lead into next weekend's finale at Florida's Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he only needs to finish better than 37th for the title, even if Sadler wins and leads the most laps.

Leffler's contact sent Sadler into Almirola, who was beside him, racing for position. That hard contact sent Sadler down the track, where Jeremy Clements also hit him. Seconds later, Morgan Shepherd slammed hard into Almirola. Despite heavy damage, there were no injuries.

Leffler accepted full responsibility, saying Sadler was blameless even though he slid up in line after cutting through the backstretch apron approaching turn three. Leffler said Sadler got back in line quicker than he expected, and he was unable to keep from hitting him.

Stenhouse said knowing Sadler was a DNF made the final 25 laps easier.

“They told me he was involved and it made that last restart a little bit easier,” he said. “It's tough when they're still out there running; anything can happen. I was aware [Sadler] got in that wreck and it felt pretty good."

With the title all but assured, Stenhouse said he is looking forward to Homestead.

“We came out here to race and we were leading laps and running out front,” he said. “I was a little cautious on those last restarts; I didn't want to get in trouble. We can get a little more aggressive on restarts next week. Homestead is one of my favorite places, so I'm looking forward to it.”